Today is reporting day for pitchers and catchers for the Red Sox in Fort Myers. Baseball season is on the horizon and we are getting for the stretch run in hockey and basketball. Here are some (almost) mindless sports thoughts for a Sunday morning/afternoon.

Wakefield ended 17 great years in Boston on Friday

Tim Wakefield was classy until the end. Wakefield closed out his Red Sox, and baseball career on Friday evening with a press conference in which Wake carried himself the same way he did for 17 years in Boston. Wakefield brought it for 17 years for the Red Sox and carved out his own little place in Boston baseball lore. Thank you Tim. I saw you pitch live at Fenway more than maybe I wanted to but you did a lot for the organization, including win 2 rings. I’m not sure if you can think of a better successor to Mike Andrews as chairman of the Jimmy Fund than Wakefield.

Listening to Bobby Valentine talk this morning it sounds like this truly is an evaluation period for everyone on the roster. It sounds like Jose Iglesias has a legitimate shot to be the Sox’ every day shortstop. Things that happened last year will probably be addressed but it seems to me that Valentine will make his own impression on the players by what he sees himself in the clubhouse and on the field.

My bold prediction on the first day of Sox’ spring training – Daniel Bard and Felix Doubront round out the rotation to start the regular season.

If fans in L.A. start hearing about Angels camp being “Camp Tranquility” just an FYI, that’s not necessarily a good thing.

Miguel Cabrera's transition to third base will be one to watch

Some of the more interesting storylines heading into camp outside of Boston – how will the defending champs fair with former catcher Mike Matheny replacing Tony LaRussa, one of the most decorated managers of all-time, as manager of the Cardinals? He did retain some key guys such as Jose Oquendo and Mark McGwire from LaRussa’s staff. Also will be interesting to watch Miguel Cabrera’s transition from first base to third in Detroit camp. He was never a good defensive first baseman so third base could be an adventure. It looks like there is a clown show coming to Athletics camp this week as well and his name is Manny Ramirez.

In non-baseball news, the Andrew Luck show, I mean the NFL Scouting Combine is this week in Indianapolis. The guy with the least amount of pressure on him might be Robert Griffith III, the consensus #2 QB to be taken in the draft. Although he can conceivably go anywhere from picks #2-#6 to at least 3 different teams the focus will squarely be on future Colts’ quarterback Andrew Luck as he works out for scouts in what will become his home stadium next season. RG3 can just go out there and do his thing.

Negotiations with pending free agents should kick into gear next week in Indy. There’s a lot of talent out there unsigned. Ray Rice, Marshawn Lynch, Matt Forte, Drew Brees, Vincent Jackson, Wes Welker, Jermichael Finley, Mario Williams, Cliff Avril, and Chris Carr just to name a few. Negotiations between teams and free agents have been modest so far but teams and agents use the scouting combine to kick off serious talks. The Buffalo Bills jumped ahead last week by exchanging numbers with the agent for WR Stevie Johnson and they hope to close the gap this week in Indy.

Is anyone else sick of Linsanity already?

Kevin Garnett and company are starting to show their age.

The Celtics are looking their age already. It’s tough to see them making a deep run into the playoffs this year. They desperately need yo get younger next season.

I can’t believe that it’s time for bracketology already. The bright side to that is it means that spring is right around the corner.

The Bruins are starting to get beat up. They could use some reinforcements at the trading deadline but it seems like a situation like last year where they need to tinker rather than make a major move. I still feel that this team can compete for another championship with their current core, they just need to add some guys in some tertiary moves. They struck gold last year with Chris Kelly and Rich Peverley.

For years it seems they’ve been trying to make a TV show about professional sports that is enjoyed by both fans and players alike. Sure there was Friday Night Lights but that was a show about high school sports. ESPN tried the controversial “Playmakers” years back but players thought the portrayal of edgy behavior of athletes off the field, while maybe accurate, was the part of the game that wasn’t for fans to see. Danny McBride, Jody Hill, and Will Ferrell had a great idea a few years ago – make a parody so over the top that both players and fans would get a kick out of it. They created Kenny Powers, an ignorant, insensitive, and masochistic cariacture, who was one of the best relief pitchers in baseball before bottoming out. Tonight starts the third and final season of Eastbound and Down. It’s probably the best sports comedy ever on TV. Check it out at 10:00 PM EST if you have HBO. Here’s a little Kenny for you: